According to a pious
tradition, Iberia, also called Georgia, is the particular
province of the Immaculate Mother of God. Saint Stefan of the
Holy Mountain relates that after our Lord's Ascension, as the
Apostles and His most Holy Mother remained in Jerusalem awaiting
the promised Comforter, they cast lots to determine in which
country God desired each of them to preach the Gospel. When, with
fear and reverence, they cast for the holy Mother of God, the
destiny of the most Pure One fell on the Iberian land. After the
day of Pentecost She meant to set out for Iberia at once, but an
Angel of God restrained Her, saying that She must remain in
Jerusalem, for Her land would be enlightened with the light of
Christ at a later time. These words were fulfilled three
centuries later when the most Blessed Virgin Mother of God sent,
zenith Her blessing and help, the holy virgin Nina to preach in
Iberia.

St. Nina was born in Cappadocia and was the only daughter of
pious and noble parents the Roman general Zabulon, a relative of
the great martyr St. George, and Susanna, sister of the patriarch
of Jerusalem. When St. Nina leas twelve years old, she traveled
with her parents to the holy city of Jerusalem. Here her father
Zabulon obtained the patriarch's blessing and departed into the
Jordan wilderness to serve God as a monk. Susanna was established
by her brother the patriarch at a church to serve the poor and
the sick, and Nina was given to be brought up by a certain pious
old woman Nianfora. The holy young girl had such outstanding
abilities that in the course of two years, with the help of the
grace of God, she had firmly assimilated the rules of faith and
piety. Every day she prayerfully read the Holy Scripture, and her
heart blazed with love for Christ, Who had endured the suffering
of the Cross and death for the salvation of men. When, with
tears, she would read the Gospel story of the Crucifixion of our
Savior, her thoughts often rested on the fate of the. Lord's
robe. she asked her teacher about its present location, for she
felt sure that such a holy object could not have been lost.
Nianfora told St. Nina that to the north-east of Jerusalem was
the country of Iberia and in it the city Mtskheta and that there,
according to tradition, the Lord's robe had been taken by the
soldier who had w on it by lot at Christs crucifixion.
Nianfora added that the inhabitants of that country, the
Kartlians, and also their neighbors the Armenians and many
mountain tribes still remained enveloped in the darkness of pagan
error and godlessness.
The old woman's words went deep into the heart of St. Nina, and
many days and nights she spent in ardent prayer to the Most Italy
Virgin Mother of God that she might be found worthy to see
Iberia; to find and reverence the robe of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and to preach the holy name of Christ to those peoples who did
not know Him. And the most Blessed Mother of God heard the prayer
of Her servant. She appeared to St. Nina in a dream and said:
"Go to Iberia and tell there the Good Tidings of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, and you will find favour before the Lord; and I
will be for you a shield against all visible and invisible
enemies. By the strength of this cross, you will erect in that
land the saving banner of faith in My beloved Son and Lord."
When St. Nina awoke and saw in her hands the miraculous cross,
she kissed it with tears of joy. Then, tying it in her hair, she
went to see her uncle the patriarch. When the blessed patriarch
heard hove the Mother of God had appeared to St. Nina and had
commanded her to go to Iberia to preach the Gospel of eternal
salČ vation, he saw in this a clear expression of the will of
God and did not hesitate to give the girl his blessing. When the
time arrived for her departure. the patriarch led Nina into the
church and up to the holy altar, and placing his hand on her
head, he prayed in the following words:
"Lord God, our Saviour! As I let this young girl depart to
preach Thy Divinity, I commit her into Thy hands: Condescend, O
Christ God, to be her Companion and Teacher everywhere that she
proclaims Thy Good Tidings, and give her words such force and
wisdom that no one will be able to oppose or refute them. pond
Thou, most Holy Virgin Mother of God, Helper and Intercessor for
all Christians, clothe with Thy strength against all enemies,
visible and invisible, this girl whom Thou Thyself hast chosen to
preach the Gospel of Thy Son and our God among the pagan nations.
Be always for her a shield and an invincible protection, and do
not deprive her of Thy favor until she has fulfilled Thy holy
will!" St. Nina left Jerusalem with the princess Ripsimia,
the princess' teacher Gaiana, and a group of fifty-three virgins
who were fleeing the persecutions of the Emperor- Diocletian.
Diocletian wanted to marry Ripsimia, even though she had taken a
vow of chastity to Christ, so she and her virgins fled to
Vagarshapat the capital of Armenia Diocletian soon learned that
Ripsimia vats hiding in Armenia and told the Armenian king
Tiridat to take her for his own wife, for she was very beautiful.
When Ripsimia remained faithful to her Heavenly Bridegroom, the
enraged Tiridat, at this time still a pagan, had her and her
companions cruelly tortured and put to death.
Only St. Nina was miraculously saved. ,Led by an unseen hand, she
took refuge among some wild rose bushes which had not yet come
into flower. Shaken by fear at the sight of her friends' fate,
the Saint lifted up her hands to heaven in prayer for them and
saw a radiant angel girded with a shining stole. With
sweet-smelling incense in his hands and accompanied by a
multitude of heavenly host, he came down from the celestial
heights, and as if to meet him, the souls of the holy martyrs
ascended from the earth, joined the throng of heavenly host, and
together with them, rose into Heaven.
On seeing this, St. Nina exclaimed, "O Lord, Lord! Why dost
Thou leave me alone among these vipers and serpents?"
In answer to this the angel said:
"Do not grieve, but wait a little, for you also will be
received into the Kingdom of the Lord of glory. This will occur
when the prickly, wild rose which now surrounds you is covered
with fragrant blossoms like a rose which has been planted and
cultivated in a gardens But now, rise and go north where a great
harvest is ripening, but where there are no harvesters." In
accordance with this command, St. Nina set out on a long journey
and finally arrived at the bank of an unfamiliar river near the
village of Khertvisi. This river was the Kura, which flows from
the west to the south-east to the Caspian Sea and waters all of
central Georgia. On the riverbank St. Nina met some shepherds
echo gave her food to refresh her after the long and tiring
journey. These. people spoke Armenian, but St. Nina had learned
this language from her teacher Nianfora. She asked one of the
shepherds where the y of Mtskheta was located and if it was very
far. He answered,
Do you see this river? On its banks a great distance down stands
a great city of Mtskheta where our gods hold power and our kings
reign."
Continuing on her way, on one occasion the holy pilgrim was
overcome with fatigue, sat down on a rock, and began to wonder:
where was the Lord leading her? what would be the fruits of her
labors? and might not such a long and such a difficult pilgrimage
all in vain? As she was considering these things, she fell asleep
and had a dream: there appeared to her a man majestic in
appearance. His hair fell to his shoulders, and in his hands he
held scroll written in Greets He unrolled the scroll and gave it
to Nina, commanding her to read it, and himself suddenly became
visible. On awakening from sleep and seeing in her hand the
miraculous scroll, St. Nina read in it the following Gospel
verses:
Verity, I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached
in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman path
done, be told for a memorial of her(Matt.26:13). There is neither
Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither
male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal.3:28).
Then said Jesus unto them (the women), Be not afraid: go tell my
brethren . . .(Matt.28:10). He that receiveth you receiveth me,
and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me(Matt.10:40).
For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your
adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist(Luke 21:15).
And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto
magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what tiling ye
shall answer, or what ye shall say: for the Holy Spirit shall
teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say (Luke 12:11-12).
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill
the soul . . . (Matt.10:28). Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Sprint: Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world (Matt.28:19-20).
Strengthened by this divine vision and consolation, St. Nina
continued her journey with renewed fervour. Having overcome
difficult labors, hunger, thirst, and fear of the wild animals,
she reached the ancient Kartlian city of Urbnisi where she
remained about a month, living in Jewish homes and studying the
manners, customs, and language of a people new and unfamiliar to
her.
On one occasion, when all the men of that city as well as many
from the Surrounding areas, were planning to go to the capital
city of Mtskheta to worship their false gods, St. Nina decided to
go with them. As they were approaching the city, they met the
entourage of King Mirian and Queen Nana. Accompanied by a great
crowd of people, they were making their way to a mountain top
opposite the city where they intended to worship the lifeless
idol Armazi.
Till noon the weather remained clear. But this day, the first day
of St. Nina's arrival at the city, which was the goal of her
mission to save Iberia, was the last day of power for the pagan
idol. Borne along by the crowd, St. Nina made her way to the
place where the idol's altar was located. She caught sight of the
chief idol Armazi. In appearance he resembled a man of unusually
great height; cast of gilded copper, he was clad in a gold coat
of mail with a gold helmet on his head. one eye was a ruby, the
other an emerald, both of uncommon size and brilliance. To the
right of Armazi stood another smaller gold idol by the name of
Katsi, and to the left, a silver idol called Gaim.
The entire crowd of people together with their king stood in
senseless reverence and trembling before their gods while the
priests made preparations for the offering of blood sacrifices.
And when finally the incense was burned, the sacrificial blood
flowed, and trumpets and cymbals resounded, the king and his
people prostrated themselves before the lifeless statues; then
the heart of the holy young girl burned with the zeal of the
prophet Elias. Sighing from the depths of her soul and in tears
lifting up her eyes to heaven, she began to pray:
"Almighty God! By Thy great mercy, bring this people to a
knowledge of Thyself, the One, True God. Scatter these idols as
the wind blows dust and ashes from the face of the earth Look
down with mercy upon this people, whom Thou hast created with
Thine almighty hand and whom Thou hast honored with Thy divine
Image ! And Thou, O Lord and Master, didst so love Thy creation
that Thou didst give even Thine Only-begotten Son for the
salvation of fallen mankind, deliver the souls also of
these Thy people from the destructive power of the prince of
darkness, who has blinded the eyes of their understanding so that
they do not see the true path to salvation. O Lord, grant me to
see the final destruction of the idols standing here so proudly.
So act that this nation and all the ends of the earth might
comprehend the salvation given by Thee, that the North and the
South together might rejoice in Thee, and that all nations might
worship Thee, the One Eternal God, and Thine Only-begotten Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom belongs glory forever."
The Saint had not yet finished this prayer when storm-clouds
suddenly arose from the west and rushed rapidly along over the
river Kura. Realizing the danger, the king and his people turned
to flight, and Nina hid herself in the cleft of a rock. A
stormcloud burst with thunder and lightning over that place where
the idol's altar stood. The idols, Which had formerly stood lofty
and proud, were beaten into dust, the walls of the temple were
also reduced to dust, and then the floods of water plunged them
over the precipice, and the river carried them away. Thus there
remained not even a trace of the idols and the temple dedicated
to them. And St. Nina, protected by God, stood unharmed in the
cleft of the rock and quietly watched as the elements raged about
her, and then once again the brilliant sun began to shine. All
this took place on the day of the Lord's most glorious
Transfiguration  when the true Light that shone on Tabor
transformed for the first time on the mountains of Iberia the
darkness of paganism into the light of Christ.
The next day the king and his people searched in vain for their
gods, and when they could not find them, they were filled with
dread and said: "The god Armazi is great; but there exists
some other God, greater than he, Who has overcome him. Is this
not perhaps the Christian God Who disgraced the ancient Armenian
gods and caused the lying Tiridat to become a Christian? But in
Georgia no one has heard anything about Christ. What then will
happen in the future?"
Some time after this, St. Nina entered the city of Mtskheta as a
pilgrim. As she was approaching the royal garden, the gardener's
wife, Anastasia, rushed out to meet her as if she were a
longawaited friend. She bowed down to the Saint and led her into
her home. Having washed her feet and anointed her head with oil,
she offered her bread and wine. Anastasia and her husband asked
Nina to remain with them in their home as a sister because they
were childless and were distressed by their loneliness. Later, at
the desire of St. Nina, Anastasia's husband built her a small hut
in the corner of the garden, on which spot to this day there
stands a chapel in honor of St. Nina within the enclosure of the
Samtauris Convent. In this hut St. Nina placed the cross
given her by the Mother of God and spent days and nights there in
prayer and the singing of psalms.

From this
hut there spread abroad word of the deeds and miracles performed
by St. Nina to the glory of Christ's Name. The very first
converts to Christianity in Iberia were the upright couple who
gave shelter to Christ's servant, St. Nina. Through St. Nina's
prayers Anastasia was released from her childlessness and later
became the mother of a large and happy family just as she also
became the first woman in Iberia to believe in Christ, before any
of the men. On one occasion a certain woman was carrying her
dying child about the streets of the city with loud wailing and
appealing to all for help. St. Nina took the sick child and laid
him on her bed of leaves. Having prayed, she placed her cross of
grapevines on the little one and then returned him to his mother
alive and well. From that time on St. Nina began openly to preach
the Gospel and to call the Iberian pagans and Jews to repentance
and faith in Christ. Her pious, righteous, and chaste life was
known to all and attracted the eyes, ears, and hearts of the
people. Many, and especially the Jewish women began to come to
Nina often to hear from her lips the new teaching about the
Kingdom of God and eternal salvation, and they began secretly
believing in Christ. Such were: Sidonia, the daughter of
Abiathar, the high priest of the Kartlian Jews, and six other
women, also Jews. Soon Abiathar himself believed in Christ after
he had heard St. Nina's explanations of the ancient prophets
about Jesus and how they were fulfilled in Him as the Messiah.
Conversing frequently with this Abiathar, St. Nina heard from him
the Following tale about the Lord's Robe:

"I heard from my parents, and they heard from their
fathers and grandfathers, that when Herod ruled in Jerusalem, the
Jews living in Mtskheta and all Kartli received the news that
Persian kings had come to Jerusalem seeking a newly-born male
child of the lineage of David, born of a mother, but having no
father, and they called him the King of the Jews. They found Him
in the city of David called Bethlehem in a humble cave and
brought Him gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense. Having
worshipped Him, they returned to their oven country.
"Thirty years passed, and then my great-grandfather Elioz
received from the high priest in Jerusalem, Annas, a letter which
read as follows:
" 'He Whom the Persian kings came to worship and offer their
gifts, has reached a mature age and has begun to preach that He
the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. Come to Jerusalem see
His death, to which He will be delivered according to the law
Moses.'
"When Elioz, along with many others, was about to set out
for Jerusalem, his mother, a pious old woman of the lineage of
the high priest Elias, said to him:
" 'Answer the king's call, my son, but I beg you, do not
ally yourself with the impious against Him, Whom they intend to
kill; He is the One foretold by the prophetsa Riddle for
the wise. a Secret hidden from the beginning of the ages, Light
for the nations and Eternal Life.'
"Elioz, together with the Karenian Longinus, arrived in
Jerusalem and was present at Christ's Crucifixion. His mother
remained in Mtskheta. On the eve of Passover she suddenly felt in
her heart something like the strokes of a hammer driving in
nails, and she cried out:
" 'Today the kingdom of Israel has perished, because it has
condemned to death its Saviour and Redeemer; from now on this
people will be guilty of the blood of its Creator and Lord. It is
my misfortune that I have not died before now, for then I would
not have heard these terrifying blows ! No more will I see on the
earth the glory of Isvael !'
"And muttering these words, she died. Elioz, who was present
at Christ's Crucifixion, obtained the Robe from the Roman soldier
to whose lot it had fallen, and brought it to Mtskheta. Elioz's
sister Sidonia, on greeting her brother with his safe return,
told him of the wondrous and sudden death of their mother and of
the words she had uttered just before she died. Then when Elioz,
in confirmation of their mother's foreboding regarding the
crucifying of Christ, showed his sister the Lord's Robe, Sidonia
took it and began - weep and kiss it; then she pressed it to her
breast and instantly fill down dead. And no human strength was
able to wrest this holy garment from the arms of the dead girl.
Elioz committed his sister's body to the earth and buried her
with Christ's Robe, and he did this in secret so that even to
this day no one knows Sidonia's burial place. Some surmise that
it is located in the center of the royal garden, where from that
time there grew up of its own accord and still stands a shady
cedar. Believers flock to it from all directions, considering it
to possess great power; and there beneath the cedar's roots,
according to tradition, is Sidonia's grave."
Having heard about this tradition, St. Nina began to go at night
to pray beneath the cedar tree; but she doubted whether the
Lord's robe was actually concealed beneath its roots. however,
mysterious visions which she had at that spot convinced her that
the place was holy and in the future would be glorified. Thus, on
one occasion, on the completion of her midnight prayers, St. Nina
saw hoof from all the surrounding lands flocks of black birds
flew down into the royal garden, and from there they flew to
bathe in the river Aragvi. After a short time they rose into the
air, but were as white as snow, and then, alighting on the
cedar's branches, they filled the garden with their paradisiacal
songs. This was a sign that the neighboring nations would be
enlightened by the waters of Holy Baptism, and on the spot where
the cedar stood would be built a church in honor of the True God,
and ill this church the Name of the Lord would be praised
forever.

Assured
by such signs that the Kingdom of God and the salvation of the
Georgian nation was near, St. Nina unceasingly preached to the
people the word of God. In telling the good news of Christ her
disciples labored with her, especially Sidonia and her father
Abiathar. The latter so zealously and insistently argued with his
former fellow-believers, the Jews about Jesus Christ, that he
suffered persecution from them and was Condemned to be stoned;
only King Mirian saved him from death. And the king himself began
to ponder the Christian faith in his heart, for he knew not only
that this faith was wide-spread in neighboring Armenia, but also
that in the Roman Empire the Emperor Constantine, having
Conquered all his enemies by the Name of Christ and by the poster
of His Cross, had become a Christian and the protector of
Christians. Iberia was under Roman rule, and Mirian's son Bakar
was at that time a hostage in Rome; therefore Mirian did not
hinder St. Nina's preaching of Christ in his city. Only Mirian's
wife, Queen Nana, harbored malice toward the Christians. A cruel
woman, she fervently revered the lifeless idols and had placed in
Iberia a statue of the goddess Venus. But the grace of God,
"which heals all diseases and meets all needs," soon
healed the sick soul of this woman also. The queen became
extremely ill, and the greater the efforts put forth by her
doctors, the worse the illness grew. she was at death's door. The
women who were intimate with her, recognizing the great danger,
began to entreat her to summon the pilgrim Nina, who by means of
prayer to the God she preached, healed all kinds of infirmities
and diseases. The queen ordered this pilgrim to be brought to
her. As a test of the queen's faith and humility, St. Nina said
to the messenger, "If the queen wants to be well, let her
come here to me in this hut, and I believe that she will receive
healing here by the power of Christ, my God."
The queen complied and ordered that she be carried on a litter to
the Saint's hut. A multitude of people followed. St. Nina
arranged for the sick queen to be placed on her own bed of
leaves, knelt down and fervently prayed to the Lord, the Healer
of souls and bodies. Then she took her cross and touched it to
the sick woman's head, feet, and shoulders, thus making the sign
of the cross on her. As soon as she had done this, the queen
immediately arose completely well. Having given thanks to the
Lord Jesus Christ, there before St. Nina and the people 
and afterwards at home before her husband King Mirianthe
queen confessed aloud that Christ is the true God. She made St.
Nina her intimate friend and constant companion in conversation,
nourishing her soul with her holy instruction. Then the queen
brought close to herself the wise elder Abiathar and his daughter
Sidonia and learned from them much concerning faith and piety.

But King
Mirian still delayed in openly confessing Christ as God and
strove, instead, to be a zealous idolater. On one occasion he
even conceived the idea of exterminating the Christian
confessors, and St. Nina along with them. This happened as
follows: A close relative of the Persian king, a scholar and
fervent follower of the Zoroastrian teaching, came on a visit to
Mirian, and after some time fell prey to the serious malady of
demon possession. Fearing the anger of the Persian king, Miriam
sent envoys to plead with St. Nina to come and heal the prince.
She had the sick man brought to the cedar tree, which grew in the
center of the royal garden, placed him facing the East with his
hands raised, and instructed him to repeat three times: "I
renounce you, Satan, and commit myself to Christ, the Son of
God!"
When the possessed man said this, the demon at once, having
shaken him threw him to the ground as if dead; but not having the
power to resist the prayers of the holy virgin, he came out of
the sick man. On his recovery, the prince believed in Christ and
returned to his own country a Christian. This frightened Mirian
even more than if the prince had died, for he feared that the
Persian king, a fire-worshipper, would be extremely angry that
his kinsman had been converted to Christ in the home of Mirian.
He threatened to have St. Nina put to death for this and to
annihilate all the Christians in the city.
Agitated in spirit by such hostile thoughts against the
Christians, King Mirian set out for the Mukhranis forest to
divert himself with hunting. While conversing with his
companions, he said:
"We have brought upon ourselves the terrible anger of our
gods because we have allowed the sorcerer-Christians to preach
their faith in our land. But soon I will destroy by the sword all
those who bow down to the Cross and to Him Who was crucified on
it. The queen, also, I will command to renounce Christ; and if
she does not obey me, I will destroy her along with the rest of
the Christians."
With these words, the king reached the summit of the steep
mountain - Tkhoti (To this day on the summit of Mt. Tkhoti there
stands a church built by King Mirian). And suddenly there arose a
storm like the one that had cast down the idol Armazi. The gleam
of lightning blinded the eyes of the king, and the thunder
dispersed his companions. In despair the king began to appeal to
his gods for help, but they were silent and did not hear. Then
sensing above him the chastising hand of the Living God, the king
cried out, "O God of Nina! dispel the gloom before my eyes,
and I will confess and praise Thy Name!"
At once it grew light, and the storm died down. Marvelling at the
power of the Name of Christ alone, the king turned toward the
East, lifted his arms to the heavens, and cried in tears:
"O God, Whom Nina preaches! Thou alone art the true God
above all gods. And now I see Thy great mercy towards me, and my
heart feels joy, consolation, and Thy nearness to me, O blessed
God ! on this spot I shall erect a cross so that the sign which
Thou hast shown me today may be remembered for all time!
The king returned to the capital city and walked along the
streets, loudly exclaiming, " Glorify, all my people, Nina's
God, Christ, for He is the eternal God, and to Him alone belongs
all glory forever!" The king was seeking St. Nina and
asking, "Where is that pilgrim, whose God is my
Redeemer?"
The Saint was at that time saying her evening prayers in her hut.
The king and the queen, who had come to meet him, accompanied by
a throng of people, came to the hut and when they saw the Saint,
they fell down at her feet, and the king exclaimed, "O. my
mother ! teach me and make one worthy to invoke the name of your
great God, my Saviour!"
In answer unrestrained tears of joy flowed from the eyes of St.
Nina. On seeing her tears, the king and queen also began to weep,
and after them all the people who had gathered there. A witness
who later described this occurrence, says: